The Senate has unveiled their latest version of Trumpcare – and it still doesn’t really repeal Obamacare.
According to The Washington Examiner, the bill, titled the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA):
- Allows people to purchase catastrophic health coverage with a tax credit.
- Allows people to utilize health savings accounts to cover health insurance costs.
- Funnels $70 billion to states to help lower premiums.
- Provides $45 billion to fight the opioid crisis.
- Keeps Obamacare’s taxes on the wealthy.
- Provides funding toward insurers who are covering pre-existing conditions.
It has been reported that the bill will include an amendment from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that allows insurers to bypass nine specific Obamacare regulations — including the pre-existing conditions mandate, community rating and essential health benefits — if they offer at least one plan that complies with Obamacare.
However:
In other words, keeping all of the insurance plans in the same pool instead of separating those that are in line with Obamacare’s mandates and those that aren’t, means that consumers will still pay for sicker Americans through higher premiums and deductibles, thereby eliminating the purpose of the Cruz-Lee amendment. Even then, as Josh Hammer pointed out, the amendment can still be watered down or removed altogether.
To make matters worse, the bill won’t actually reduce Medicaid spending:
The full text of the bill can be read here.